![]() Some hermits will even double up by attaching an anemone to their snail shell. Their soft bodies are coiled to fit in the spiraling shells, though sadly some find less-fitting homes- like humans’ trash.Īs they grow, Weis says, they need to find larger shells, “just like growing children needing bigger shoes.” Unauthorized use is prohibited.įinally, hermit crabs have a tough exoskeleton on their front half and protect their softer back half by finding discarded snail shells to live in. (Video: Watch: Crab Tickles Shellfish for Hours to Find Love) ĭepending on the species they can be either commensal, a harmless passenger, or parasitic, taking food the mussel could be using and leaving the host a little leaner. Pea crabs live inside bivalves such as mussels and oysters, says Judith Weis, marine biologist at Rutgers University and author of Walking Sideways: The Remarkable World of Crabs. Some urchins have venomous spines, but who would want to test if this is one of them? (Watch: Carrier Crab Uses Spiny Urchin as a Shield.)Īnd then there’s the pea-sized pea crab, which doesn’t bother with costumes at all. (See more bryozoans in “ Mysterious, Brain-Like Blob Found in Lagoon.”)Ĭarrier crabs of the Indo-Pacific and East Africa have specialized back legs that let them hold the weight of a protective sea urchin when they go out for a stroll. are “the most extreme decorator,” Stachowicz says, carpeting themselves with anemones and bryozoans, tiny moss animals that can look plant-like, furry, or gelatinous. Others “use materials in proportion to what they find in the environment,” so they simply blend in. They “protect themselves from predators by using toxic algae or stinging sea anemones,” which, like sponges, can both disguise the crab and deter predators. Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic Photo Ark What they wear depends on the species of crab.Ī marsh fiddler crab ( Uca virens) at Pure Aquariums. They “often shape the sponge to fit over a large part of their carapace,” or hard exoskeleton.ĭecorator crabs, on the other hand, “have hooked hairs all over their carapace that act like Velcro to hold any sort of decoration in place,” Stachowicz says. Sponge crabs use their back pair of legs “to hold an intact sponge over their body,” says Jay Stachowicz, a marine ecologist at the University of California at Davis. The sponges camouflage the crabs from predators, with some sponge species also emitting toxic or noxious chemicals, making the crab unappealing to predators. The aptly named sponge crabs of West Africa and the Mediterranean wear sponges on their heads and bodies, not to attract attention but to deflect it. ![]() Some are fashionistas, and some make pretty strange fashion choices-like toxic wigs.Ĭharmed and surprised by their ensembles, we couldn’t help wondering, “Why is it that crabs sometimes dress up?” Who Are You Wearing? The 7,000 species of crabs on earth have looks ranging from scary to cute to surreal. ![]() Most of us tend to see crabs as just a great set of legs, but they go to all kinds of trouble to be spectacular. ![]()
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